Based on the poem Once Upon A Time describe your experiences of false friendship or false relationships in your life. You can include your false attitude also if you are bold enough
Answers
The poet Okara in this narrative monologue painfully condemns the duplicity displayed by adults, both in their words and actions. Here, a father laments to his son about the negative changes that creep into the attitude and behaviour of humans, when they grow into adults. He says that people used to be genuine when they laugh and the honesty would be reflected in their eyes. But, people of modern times laugh superficially. Their handshakes used to be warm and happy conveying a sense of togetherness, but nowadays the handshakes have become a mere
fakes. He warns his son that people are not trust-worthy and have become so selfish that they are concerned only about their own
personal benefits.
People utter words of welcome and exchange
pleasantries, but those words come only from the tip of their tongues and not from the depth of their hearts. Humans have learnt the art of changing their facial expressions according to situations merely to ensure social acceptance. They wear
falsity and exhibit multiple faces. The narrator admits that he has also changed into a hypocrite. However, he tells his son that though he masks his expressions, he does all these against his will. He says he wants to become a child again and laugh genuinely. He wants to unlearn the unreal things and relearn how to laugh as he had done once upon a time. When he laughs before the mirror, he sees no expression. His teeth are bare like that of the fangs of a snake. So, he asks his son to show him how to laugh the way he used to laugh, when he was a kid like him.